Tax news December 2013

In a report released publicly by TIGTA concluded the IRS Modernized e-File (MeF) system has successfully replaced the agency's Legacy e-File system as the primary e-filing platform for individual tax returns during the 2013 filing season.

The IRS is piloting a program that would allow employees access to work e-mail and other services on their personal smartphones, but according TIGTA, the IRS program should be cost effective and a full cost-benefit analysis is needed.

In a new case decided by the US Supreme Court, the remnants of a tax shelter partially constructed by wily Texas billionaire Billy Joe McCombs – known informally as "Red" – collapsed like a house of cards.

Three provisions of the ACA may have a major impact on individual taxpayers and certain businesses beginning in 2013. The IRS has just issued voluminous new final regulations clarifying some of the rules.

As professional athletes' salaries continue to escalate, several revenue-strapped states seem to be looking to the athletes for a solution. Two NFL players are crying foul and taking one major city to court.

The federal tax law provides relief to victims of natural disasters, but taxpayers generally have to wait until the government works its way through a lengthy process for each specific event. Now, the AICPA has proposed a faster solution.

Welcome to our first installment of "Bramwell's Lunch Beat." Each weekday around lunchtime, I'll provide you, the accounting and finance professional, with some bite-sized summaries and links to news articles that may be of interest.

Some are wondering if federal agencies are seizing private assets on flimsy evidence to beef up their budgets. In 1985, about $27 million assets were seized. That's no small amount, but leap forward to 2012, when the amount skyrocketed to $4 billion.